My New Scale

Saturday, January 14, 2012

My new habit is related to a new scale I recently purchased. It is the EatSmart GetFit Body Digital Body Fat Scale made by HealthTools.
What is cool about this scale is it uses a low-level electronic impulse to measure your body fat percentage, body water percentage and muscle mass percentage as well as bone mass in pounds.

I thought this would be a great way to not just view the weight in pounds but also pay attention to how the weight is composed. Two people who weigh 160 pounds could have very different fitness levels. One who has a higher muscle mass percentage and lower body fat percentage will be more fit than one who has a high body fat percentage and a low muscle mass.

What I found out is that currently my body fat percentage is too high and my muscle mass percentage is way too low. Also, my total body water percentage is below normal.

The way to lower the body fat percentage is a combination of watching the calories/healthy diet and exercise. Increasing the muscle mass percentage involves strength training. And increasing the body water percentage means drinking more water. I will address each of these in more detail in future blogs on new habits.

My new habit for today is daily weighing and recording of all 4 items on my new scale, that is body fat percentage, body water percentage, muscle mass percentage, and total body weight. Using this scale will help keep me from being discouraged if my overall weight doesn't go down as fast as I want, despite exercising. I may be able to see improvement in body fat percentage or muscle mass percentage even if the weight doesn't drop, so will know I am making progress. Or if one of the measurements starts going in the wrong direction, I will be able to troubleshoot my fitness plan to try to see what I need to change.

By the way, I have no affiliation with this company. It is just a scale I saw recommended on Amazon. Cost was a little over $50 on Amazon.

There are definitely two schools of thought on weighing - either once a week or everyday. Sounds like everyday works for you, plus the bonus of added information and incentive. Good luck with this one!

I just saw an advertisement for a scale like that but it was nearly $300. I might have to look up that scale, knowing those numbers might help push me to clean up my eating habits and stick to my ST and cardio better.